The Nature Conservancy and The Trustees of the Reservations will be conducting five controlled burns at ecological restoration sites around the Island this spring.

The burns will be performed sometime between now and May 15. They will be at the Katama Airfield, 80 Meetinghouse Way, Bamford Preserve and the Wasque Reservation, all in Edgartown, and at Long Point Wildlife Refuge in West Tisbury.

Routine burning helps tame overgrowth and distribute nutrients to soil in these sandplain coastal barrens and grassland habitats. The sites are home to many state-protected plant and animal species that rely on restorative burns to thrive.

When the burns will be performed will depend on the weather and when the burn crew is available to travel to the Island.